I know most of you have been working very hard in collecting lots of information about your lines of inquiry—well done! Now you need to stop collecting info and start thinking about what to do with it. You do not need to get more ‘stuff’ to answer the key questions—they are not lines of inquiry.
Most likely, you already have the answers to those 8 questions if you have read all the material you collected from the internet, newspapers, interviews, etc. and, more importantly, if you discuss it amongst yourselves. The Key Questions are a way to get you to THINK about your issue/problem from those 8 different angles, so that in your Exhibition you can demonstrate that you UNDERSTAND IT.
The way to answer them is to reflect on the knowledge you have gained so far, guided by the following definitions:
FORM: "What is it like?" The understanding that everything has a form with recognizable features that can be observed, identified, described and categorized.
FUNCTION:"How does it work?" The understanding that everything has a purpose, a role or a way of behaving that can be investigated.
CAUSATION:"Why is it like this?" The understanding that things do not just happen, that there are causal relationships at work, and that actions have consequences.
CHANGE:"How is it changing?" The understanding that change is the process of movement from one state to another. It is universal and inevitable.
CONNECTION:"How is it connected to other things?" The understanding that we live in a world of interacting systems in which the actions of any individual element affect others.
PERSPECTIVE:"What are the points of view?" The understanding that knowledge is moderated by perspectives; different perspectives lead to different interpretations, understandings and findings; perspectives may be individual, group, cultural or disciplinary.
RESPONSIBILITY:"What is our responsibility?" The understanding that people make choices based on their understandings, and the actions they take as a result do make a difference.
REFLECTION:"How do we know?" The understanding that there are different ways of knowing, and that it is important to reflect on our conclusions, to consider our methods of reasoning, and the quality and the reliability of the evidence we have considered.
I hope this information is useful to you. Please contact me if you have any doubts or questions!
Warm regards,
Claudia Fayad PYP Coordinator
I know most of you have been working very hard in collecting lots of information about your lines of inquiry—well done!
Now you need to stop collecting info and start thinking about what to do with it. You do not need to get more ‘stuff’ to answer the key questions—they are not lines of inquiry.
Most likely, you already have the answers to those 8 questions if you have read all the material you collected from the internet, newspapers, interviews, etc. and, more importantly, if you discuss it amongst yourselves.
The Key Questions are a way to get you to THINK about your issue/problem from those 8 different angles, so that in your Exhibition you can demonstrate that you UNDERSTAND IT.
The way to answer them is to reflect on the knowledge you have gained so far, guided by the following definitions:
FORM: "What is it like?" The understanding that everything has a form with recognizable features that can be observed, identified, described and categorized.
FUNCTION: "How does it work?" The understanding that everything has a purpose, a role or a way of behaving that can be investigated.
CAUSATION: "Why is it like this?" The understanding that things do not just happen, that there are causal relationships at work, and that actions have consequences.
CHANGE: "How is it changing?" The understanding that change is the process of movement from one state to another. It is universal and inevitable.
CONNECTION: "How is it connected to other things?" The understanding that we live in a world of interacting systems in which the actions of any individual element affect others.
PERSPECTIVE: "What are the points of view?" The understanding that knowledge is moderated by perspectives; different perspectives lead to different interpretations, understandings and findings; perspectives may be individual, group, cultural or disciplinary.
RESPONSIBILITY: "What is our responsibility?" The understanding that people make choices based on their understandings, and the actions they take as a result do make a difference.
REFLECTION: "How do we know?" The understanding that there are different ways of knowing, and that it is important to reflect on our conclusions, to consider our methods of reasoning, and the quality and the reliability of the evidence we have considered.
I hope this information is useful to you. Please contact me if you have any doubts or questions!
Warm regards,
Claudia Fayad
PYP Coordinator